It's hard to imagine anything less controversial than poppy sales during the lead-up to Remembrance Day. And yet, it seems, every year someone finds a way to disrespect - often unintentionally - the poppy and what it means to this country's veterans and its heritage.
Every year, it seems, we hear of someone somewhere who has stolen a donation box or a business that has refused the simple courtesy of allowing veterans a bit of space to sell their poppies.
Poppy sales have a two-fold purpose: they raise money to help veterans in need, but they also remind us of the depth of sacrifices made for this country, and for others around the world.
The red paper or plastic poppies sold by veterans and legionnaires and others on street corners or in front of businesses, or maybe available through donation boxes on store counters, represent the masses of poppy flowers that grew and bloomed on the Flanders battlefields in Belgium and France.
Artillery fire and other First World War activity awakened poppy seeds that had lain dormant in the soil, resulting in explosions of beautiful colour in the midst of war.
They are a reminder of the tens of thousands of Canadians who have died in war. They are a reminder of the risks and injuries - physical and emotional - endured by hundreds of thousands more.
The money goes to projects to care for those whose lives were altered by the risks and injuries.
That's something worth remembering, next time you see someone selling poppies outside your door.
